can c.s. be raised if...

[EEck]

What is the name of your state? Ohio

(I am asking this for a friend who doesn't own a computer)

Can child support be raised if an amendment to a divorce decree states:
"neither plaintiff nor defendant shall seek a modification of child support unless a significant and substantial change of circumstances has occured with reference to one or both parties' gross annual income."

I thought that child support was not something you can negotiate this way although it is in the paperwork.
Does anyone know if this statement is binding?

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[stealth2]

Generally CS is modifiable after a certain timeframe has passed (3 years seems pretty standard) and/or there has been a significant change in circumstances. So that statement seems pretty well in line with what normally happens anyway. You can't just file every three months (for example) for an increase/decrease 'cause you want to.

If your friend simply thinks that the amount isn't "fair", s/he may not have much of a leg to stand on.

 

[EEck]

I was just trying to figure out if this is a binding statement that the courts would uphold because it has always been my assumption that child support was not something that is set in one year and never modified..which is what the paperwork implies to me. The custodial parent is a he and his ex wife is a nurse so of course she wanted something like that in there so she will only have to pay 100.00 a month for the next 8 years...
while she should have to pay four times that amount!
I was really only wondering if anyone has had any experience with something like this.

 

[VeronicaGia]

Go here:

http://ocse3.acf.dhhs.gov/ext/irg/sps/selectastate.cfm

click on OH, read section K. You may want to print the entire document for your friend, but section K specifically outlines support modification information.

The sentence in the divorce papers does not mean he cannot request a modification. The information in the link I provided tells you how much support would have to go up/down, or how much income would have to change before a modification will be warranted.

She is under a false sense of hope thinking this will protect her for any length of time. Also, if the judge deviated from the guidelines, he/she had to give a reason why the deviation was in the best interests of the children.

To get an idea of what support should be, your friend should go here:

www.supportguidelines.com